For both retail and commercial environments, there has always been a need to create what are termed “mixed pallets” in which different cases are stored and/or shipped on a single pallet to various retail, wholesale, and/or manufacturing locations. For example, common areas in which there is a need for mixed pallets are grocery stores, convenience stores, and industrial settings. A convenience store, for instance, may not need a complete pallet of a particular brand of soft drinks. A combination of various soft drink brands or other items can be combined together on a single pallet for shipment to the store, thereby reducing shipping costs. Creating these mixed pallet loads can be quite a labor-intensive proposal, which in turn can increase employee turnover. Picking errors can be quite common when building mixed pallet loads. Moreover, storage space is typically at a premium and can be quite costly, and these mixed pallet requirements significantly strain storage requirements because of the large number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) involved. Orders typically need to be processed and shipped in a rather short time cycle, and the creation of mixed pallets can significantly slow down the order fulfillment process.
Thus, there is a need for improvement in this field.